Nation

'MCA will contest by-election'

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kajang state seat belongs to the MCA and the party will contest in the coming by-election there, MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.

“It is an MCA seat, which we have always contested. There is no question about this,” he said yesterday when asked if the seat would be contested by the MCA.

Speaking to reporters after a party meeting held to discuss the by-election, Liow said he had outlined the MCA’s strategy and preparations for the polls.

He said the party would propose a “winnable candidate” after the date of the by-election was set.

He said deputy president Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong would head a special committee to prepare for the by-election while at the state and divisional levels, the effort would be led by Selangor MCA deputy chairman Datuk Donald Lim and Hulu Langat MCA chief Lee Ban Seng respectively.

On Tuesday, PKR named its adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as its candidate. The by-election was called following the resignation of PKR’s Lee Chin Cheh.

Liow hit out at Anwar for “manipulating” the situation and forcing a by-election for his own political gain.

“I believe Anwar will be penalised for the way he has manipulated, lied to and misled the public. We are positive about this and I believe the rakyat knows the ploy of the Opposition,” he said.

Dr Wee said PKR would be banking on non-Malay votes as the party was not confident of gaining Malay support.

He said this was due to “flip flop” decisions following the Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia earlier this month.

Dr Wee said Anwar was betraying the trust of the people by claiming that he was not aiming for the Selangor Mentri Besar’s post.

“Anwar said he is not contesting or aiming for the MB’s post but then why does he need to create this by-election?” he asked.

Lim said Kajang voters could see the political motive behind the move to field Anwar for the state seat.

“It is also unfair for the Kajang voters as they had made up their mind six months ago and now they are forced to vote again,’’ he added.